Someone like You
by LitLover 101
Summary: On a snowy day Hayley goes out to take a break from the Mikaelson Christmas tradition of driving each other and everyone else insane. What happens next is something that she would never expect but it turns out to be the perfect present for Klaus this year. A story of how no one should have to spend Christmas alone. Haylijah romance, Klayley friendship, Klaroline happy ending.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**The **__**Originals**_**. That honor goes to Julie Plec, Michael Narducci and the CW. **

**Hello, my lovely readers. This will be a short piece of fiction probably about two to three chapters. I Hope that you enjoy it. On with the show… **

Chapter 1: What do you get the hybrid who has everything?

Christmas, 2016:

"Nik, do you have the lights set up properly this time 'round?" Kol asked from his place atop a ladder.

"No, he hasn't," Rebekah called from the kitchen where she was attempting to make cookies from scratch.

"Have to, Bekah," Klaus snapped as he walked inside, wiping his hands and looking triumphant.

"Watching while Elijah and Marcel hang them does not count, Klaus," Hayley replied drily as she bounced Hope on her hip who had grown immensely in the past year.

Klaus glowered at her. "And what, pray tell, has been your contribution to this holiday?"

"Not ripping you heart out," Elijah quipped as he appeared by Hayley's side and grinned at the baby who grinned back.

"Nuncle Lijah," Hope squealed, bouncing frantically on Hayley's hip with her arms outstretched.

"Which one of you fed her sugar, again?" Klaus thundered with his "I'm going to dagger you" look directed at Kol who grinned innocently at the tree as Finn appeared with a plate full of burned cookies.

"It seems that Rebekah's attempts at cooking have not fulfilled her expectations," Finn murmured to the assembled group as they chuckled just as Rebekah snarled and things began to break in the kitchen.

"Is this a bad time?" Davina called as Marcel walked into the house with his surrogate daughter and her best friend in tow.

"Ah, it would not be Christmas if there were not uninvited fools entering my home," Klaus snarled as he glared at Davina.

"You know what, Klaus," Davina began when Kol hopped down from the ladder and swept her off her feet.

"Darling, I've been waiting for you," Kol murmured before they disappeared and Klaus glowered.

"Come on, Grinch. Let them have their fun. It's not their fault that they're happy and you're, well, you're you," Hayley spoke to Klaus while looking at Elijah as Elijah bounced Hope in his arms.

"God damn it!" Rebekah shrieked miserably from the kitchen and Marcel sped off to deal with the Original sister's anger.

"I'm perfectly happy. I have my city, my child, my whole family restored, hell, I even have friends," Klaus said with pleased a smirk at Cami who walked in the front door. "Cami, how good of you to come."

"Only because there's free alcohol and…" Cami gave Finn a look and then frowned before looking at the tree. "Oh, how nice. I thought that it would be decorated in someone's innards or worse."

"That's always a possibility," Klaus remarked when Marcel came sailing out of the doors of the kitchen.

"You're not being HELPFUL," Rebekah wailed.

"Hayley," Elijah began and Hayley nodded before taking the baby and watched Elijah stride off toward the kitchen to calm his sister.

"Here's an idea," Hayley said thoughtfully. "You," she directed a fiery gaze at Klaus while holding Hope out to him, "take our daughter. I'm going out to see if I can find more booze and possibly back-up cookies before we have to find a new house to celebrate in. Maybe I'll even find you a Christmas present on my way," the young hybrid said with a smirk as she pulled her coat on and headed out the door. In all honesty, she just needed to get away from the craziness that was the Mikaelson home. As much as she was relieved for Elijah's sake that they weren't trying to kill each other that did not mean that they could not be enough to give anyone a headache.

Heading into town, Hayley felt a little bit aimless as she appreciated the time that the humans had taken to decorate the town that was just outside of New Orleans that they had made their home for the holiday. It was nice to see something that would qualify as "normal." That was until she saw the back of a familiar head that she hadn't seen in close to three years. Since they were the only two "humans" out and about, Hayley was sure that girl would sense her soon. Would this turn into a fight? If so then Hayley was prepared. But she really did not want to and by the posture of the blonde's body, Hayley believed that she was not in the mood either.

They were walking along the same sidewalk for the last five minutes without the blonde showing any sign that she was aware of Hayley's presence when the blonde stopped abruptly. "Whoever you are, you should know that following me is a really, REALLY, bad idea today of ALL days because I'm SERIOUSLY not in the mood!" the blonde growled.

"You know it is a free country, right? I mean I know that for some people that is debatable, but…" Hayley said quietly as she kept walking until she was standing behind the blonde who turned to glower at her with a look that lacked the surprise that Hayley thought that the girl should feel given how shocked she felt to see Miss Mystic Falls so far away from… Mystic Falls. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"What am I doing here?" Caroline scoffed. Holding up her hands, she shook her head. "You know what? This is Christmas. And because it is, I'm going to let you walk away. Otherwise, this might be a very different conversation." Caroline started to storm off when Hayley rolled her eyes.

"You can take the girl out of the land of teenage drama, but it looks like you can't take the teenage drama out of the girl," Hayley snapped. Why she was trying to push Caroline's buttons, Hayley was not sure. Maybe because it reminded her of a time that she did not care about rules or who got hurt, of being free. Now, she was a mother and she couldn't just go around picking fights with people for no reason other than she had anger issues. Which, really, truly sucked sometimes with the damned heightened emotions it just made staying in control all that much harder. Of course if she and Caroline fought then Klaus would be pissed, but maybe if she broke the Barbie doll's neck and dragged her home to Klaus, she could check getting him a present of her long list of things to-do on the day of.

"Why don't you go to hell, Hayley? I mean seriously. I bet they have a pitchfork wrapped up and ready for you," Caroline snarled. "I mean of all the people that I have to run into on Christmas it had to be you, right? Why? What did I ever do wrong?" Caroline shouted at the sky as it began to snow. She shook her head and sighed heavily. "Whatever. I'm going to go my way, and I'm sure you have some people to torment on yours. Good-bye, Hayley. Hopefully, we'll never have the unpleasantness of seeing each other again."

Hayley felt a smile twitch at the corners of her lips as Caroline stormed off when she rolled her eyes. "Why aren't you with your friends, Caroline?" she yelled after the little vampire.

Caroline stopped like someone had placed a wall in front of her. Turning slowly, Caroline began to gnaw at her lower lip. "Because they've all decided to spend the holidays outside of Mystic Falls. Which is ridiculous because I spent the better part of a year trying to get them back in. You'd think that the least they could do is stay at home during the first year they could actually stay at home for Christmas. But, no! Damon had to whisk Stefan, Elena and Bonnie, Alaric and Enzo off to some STUPID retreat in Switzerland. Freakin' SWITZERLAND! Seriously! As if there wasn't enough snow in Mystic Falls. But, no, they had to go snowboarding and sking, and… and… stuff. And Jeremy, Tyler, Matt and Tyler's girlfriend, Liv, went off to some stupid thing in Colorado with more sking and football and stuff. And, get this, they wanted to have a HUMAN experience. REALLY?! What are they, little kids? No vampires allowed! I mean Liv is a witch and Tyler's SO going to trigger his curse with her around. And even Liv' brother, Luke -"

"Okay, I think that I get the picture," Hayley replied as Caroline's body deflated and she folded her arms over her chest.

"Well, I'm going to guess that you have nowhere to go either since you're out here by yourself. And since the holidays suck when you're alone I guess that maybe we could say bygones and hang together. Just for today. But still…" Caroline murmured, barely audible as she stared at a point just above Hayley's left shoulder and then she looked the hybrid in the eye with an overly hopeful look.

"Actually, I just came out to find something to drink and a gift for a family member and some cookies because my… friend keeps burning them," Hayley said. She had no idea if Klaus had told Caroline anything about their situation in New Orleans but due to his paranoia she figured that more than likely not. Caroline's expression changed and the light in her eyes dulled. "But you could come. You know if you don't mind hanging with my family and friends for the day."

Caroline's eyes lit up instantly. "Really? I mean they're not like a pack of vampire hating werewolves that would want nothing more than to truss me up and cook me over an open flame?" Letting out a nervous giggle, Caroline looked uncertain.

"No, no, that's not we would do. Besides I would need to buy an apple to shove in your mouth and my friends are allergic," Hayley replied with a smirk as she placed a hand on Caroline's shoulder and gently turned her so they were heading toward a small grocery.

"So, are you living in New Orleans or just on the outskirts because I'd heard that there had been ups and downs for the wolves around here?" Caroline inquired politely.

"I live in the French Quarter," Hayley said quickly. "Any preference on alcohol?"

"Vodka," Caroline said quickly with a grin as they strode inside. "And don't any of your friends know how to make Christmas cookies?"

"Not really and one of them was having a meltdown when I left," Hayley replied as they headed down the drinks aisle and she filled the cart with whatever looked plausible. Klaus would be so taken with Caroline's presence that she could serve him pig's blood and he probably thank her.

"I'm really good at making cookies," Caroline enthused. "If there are ingredients on the shelves then we can still make them from scratch."  
"Cool," Hayley called over her shoulder when her phone vibrated in her pocket. "Why don't you go see if you can get those and I'll see if they have the packaged kind as a backup?" Caroline walked off as Hayley opened her phone and smiled as Elijah's voice filled her ear.

"Hayley, is everything alright? Have you run into trouble? Where are you?" Elijah inquired and she could see the frown that he was shooting at the others in the room. His concern was priceless and made her feel giddy.

"I'm fine. Just ran into somebody I know. I'm going to be bringing someone with me when I come back. And I found a present for Klaus," Hayley whispered quietly.

"Really? Who and is the person in question your present to my brother?" Elijah inquired just as quietly.

"Yes, so just keep him distracted until I get home. 'Kay?" Hayley retorted.

"Of course. I love you," Elijah said quietly and Hayley grinned widely.

"I love you, too. See you soon," Hayley replied before hanging up as Caroline dumped two armfulls of ingredients, cookie sheets and cutters in various designs.

Within twenty minutes the two unlikely companions were checking out as Caroline snagged a box of candy canes and added them to the contents of their loot. When they were walking out into the brisk cool air, Caroline pulled out two candy canes and handed one to Hayley. They were happily sucking on their sugar when a man approached them with a gun. "Give me all your money," he demanded when Caroline set her bags down and moved in front of Hayley.

"Let me handle this," Hayley said, setting her own bags down. She wanted to fight someone and this man had given her an excuse. Besides she didn't want her gift for Klaus to be damaged on the way home. Walking up to the guy who seemed to think that she was either stupid or crazy, she slapped the gun away and lifted the man off the ground by the neck. "You're not going to try to rob anyone else, yes?"

"Yes," the man said as she dropped him on his ass. Walking back around Caroline, Hayley collected her bags calmly while Caroline stared at her suspiciously.

"Did you just compel that guy? You did. Didn't you? How? Did Klaus turn you? How could he turn you? There are no more dopplegangers? Maybe he still has Elena's blood? No. Maybe. What is going on, Hayley? I'm not going anywhere until I know," Caroline snapped as she stood still.

Hayley sighed, "If you come with me then I'll tell you everything."

Caroline frowned but walked along in silence with the candy cane in her mouth. Once they were at the front door of the Mikaelsons' holiday home, Hayley stopped to stare at Caroline. "So, you might be a little shocked when you see what's behind this door, but just try to not freak out." Forcing a smile as Caroline's eyes widened as her mouth dropped open no doubt poised to spill a ton of new questions, Hayley pushed the now closed door open.

As soon as the door was open the Mikaelson chaos began to float toward the two young vampires, well, vampire and hybrid. "Watch it," Marcel yelled when Kol threw a bulb from the Christmas tree toward the angry looking younger vampire's head. Rebekah jumped and caught it before sending it toward its owner.

"Enough nonsense. Hayley said that she was bringing someone with her and I do not want you to scare the guest," Elijah's voice boomed above the din.

"Good luck with that," Finn muttered into his glass of what looked like apple cider as Hayley and Caroline entered the house.

"Thank God you're back. And you brought booze," Cami said cheerfully. "Hi, I'm Cami," she said, holding out her hand to Caroline who shook it. "Welcome to the madness."

"Hi. Caroline," Caroline said, looking dazed.

"Caroline?" Kol yelled as he glanced up and was hit in the head by a clump of mistletoe by Davina who began to giggle loudly. Aiden was sitting beside Davina with Josh as the young witch tried to duck as Kol sailed toward her. "What the bloody hell is she doing here? Does Nik know? He'll have an aneurism. Nik!" Kol screamed as he pulled Davina off her feet, placing her atop his shoulders and spinning in a circle while Davina screamed with glee and her friends tried to avoid being beheaded accidently.

"What?" Klaus shouted with a furious look as he exited the kitchen covered head to toe in flour and who knew what with a grinning Hope on his shoulder and a glowering Rebekah following him, dusting her hands off.

"What is it, Kol?" Rebekah snapped as her gaze swept the floor. "Oh!" she exclaimed when she noticed Caroline.

"Caroline?" Klaus gasped.

"Merry Christmas!" Hayley announced as Klaus stared at Caroline in amazement.

**Thank you for faving, following, reading and/or reviewing. **

**Peace, **

**Jessica**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, my lovely readers. I know it's been a very, very long time since this story started but here is the final half. Merry belated Christmas. On with the show…**

Chapter 2: Of Unexpected Holiday Guests and Happy Holiday Endings

Christmas, 2016:

For a moment Caroline could only stand in the door, feeling like she was in shock. Now, the picture began to piece itself together. The family and friends Hayley had been so hesitant to name were the Mikaelsons and now Caroline was a guest at their celebrations. This was beyond awkward. What was she supposed to say to any of them, let alone Klaus, who she had not spoken to her since… since they had gotten naked and… oh, my…

"Caroline," Klaus took a step toward her and that seemed to be enough for the rest of the family and friends to continue their actions. Or maybe they had never stopped doing anything. Maybe Caroline had been so focused on the Hybrid that she had stopped noticing them. Now, she noticed the baby on Klaus' shoulder.

"Who's that?" Caroline said, quietly, but everyone with supernatural hearing's ears perked up.

"This is Hope. Our daughter," Hayley told her, making her way toward Klaus and taking the baby.

"_Your_ daughter? As in…?" Caroline looked from Klaus to Hayley. For a moment she felt like someone had kicked her. Her first instinct was to run away from the house or to make a scene. But there was so much that happened and she didn't know how or why Klaus and Hayley were together. It just was. And she was a guest in their home. So as long as neither of them tried to kill her, at least she wouldn't be alone today. "Okay. Where's the kitchen? I hear someone needs help making cookies."

"That would be _me_?" Rebekah cried, smacking a tall man who was wiping flour off her right cheek. "Marcel, not now," the Original sister snapped.

"When then?" Marcel snapped back.

"Later," Rebekah called before hurrying over and collecting Caroline. They entered the kitchen and Caroline let out a laugh because it looked like a hurricane had ripped through the room. "Wow! Rebekah, what happened in here?" Caroline asked with a giggle. "Did you have a fight with your siblings?"

"No, I just… This mixer does not function _correctly_," Rebekah growled, pointing at the mixer with a look of searing hatred.

"Okay. Well, if you want to go out there and hang out with your boyfriend, then I'll make sure we have some cookies within the hour. And a clean kitchen," the younger blonde vampire did not give the older one time to answer before she placed her bags on the only clean spot in the kitchen and began to look for a towel to clean up with.

Rebekah left the kitchen and soon Elijah strode inside and opened a closet door. "Here, I think you might be needing this," he said, offering Caroline an apron while he slid another one over his head and tied the strings. "And I thought I would offer my assistance so that I do not end up daggering my siblings this year."

"Thank you, Elijah," Caroline was happy that she would have some company. After a couple of long, quiet moments her curiosity got the better of her. "So, how _long_ have Klaus and Hayley been together?" she asked. If she had stayed in the living room, she might have been able to guess the baby's age but she did not want to guess at the time.

"Klaus and Hayley are _not_ together, Caroline," Elijah replied while opening a door and pulling out a clean bowl. He tore a bag of flour open and looked for a measuring cup.

"_What_? But they have a baby? Why wouldn't they be together?" Caroline felt confused. It wasn't that she wasn't aware that there are plenty of families where the parents were not together, after all her father had turned out to not be interested in women, but still…

"They had a one-night stand. Hope, my niece, was the product of that. Now, they have a certain respect and tolerance of one another that has taken some time to develop, but, now, here we are, another unconventional family," Elijah explained, pouring sugar into the bowl.

"Oh," Caroline handed Elijah a bottle of milk. "Well, that's nice. I mean good… I mean…" she felt her cheeks burn, having no idea what else to say when Elijah turned to give her an understanding smile.

"Hey, how are things going on in here? I don't hear any more breaking of anything, screaming, cursing or see anyone go sailing. So I'm going to guess that things are better," Hayley joked, bouncing Hope on her hip.

"I want a cookie," Hope sang on her mother's hip. "I want a cookie, 'Lijah," she called to her uncle.

"All in good time, little one," Elijah called back as Hayley came across the room to stand beside him. Caroline didn't think anything about their proximity until Hayley leaned forward and kissed Elijah on the cheek. He turned to her, leaning down and kissed her on lips while rubbing Hope's back.

"Okay," Caroline muttered to herself. "You know. I think I'm going to go check on how things are in the living room," she started to slip out of the kitchen when Hayley looked up.

"Hey, Caroline, could you take Hope for a little while?" Hayley asked, coming toward her and holding out the child.

Caroline felt her eyes widen because she could tell that Hayley wasn't really asking. "Okay," she gasped when the child was in her arms. Forcing a smile, she headed out of the kitchen but could still hear Hayley let out a laugh and the sound of kissing following her out of the room.

"Caroline," Klaus greeted her once she had entered the living room. Hope immediately reached for her father. Caroline easily transferred the child to her parent. "I was hoping we might have a word," he began when the front door flew open with a bang and he groaned.

"We're _finally_ here," a tall, blonde woman announced, she was standing beside a tall, black haired man. "And we have presents, for everyone," the woman cried.

"Auntie Freya!" Hope shouted, bouncing around on Klaus' hip.

"Hope!" the woman that Hope called her aunt hurried over and scooped the child up from Klaus. "Niklaus," she cried with a wide smile, kissing Klaus on the cheek. "Sorry that we're so late. The plane was late. Then the traffic was horrible. If only Jack had let me drive this time. But you know men; they can be hard-headed." Turning to Caroline, the woman smiled. "Hello?" she looked to Klaus with uplifted eyebrows.

"Freya, this is Caroline, a friend from out-of-state. Caroline, this is my sister, Freya," Klaus introduced the two with a stiff smile.

"Oh. Oh, my. You're Caroline. Yes, I remember seeing you… Hmmm… This is interesting. Well, I need to get the presents under the tree," Freya said with a mysterious smile and she patted Klaus on the shoulder. "It was nice to meet you in person, Caroline. Good luck, Nik."

"You have _another_ sister?" Caroline felt confused as she watched the sister when she joined Finn and Kol by the tree.

"What did you get me?" Kol cried, taking his present and shaking it like a little boy.

"Oh, Kol," the little brunette by his side moaned, placing her hand to her forehead and shaking her head in dismay.

"Thank you, Freya," Finn said, setting his present aside and hugging his sister.

Klaus let out a cough to regain Caroline's attention. "Yes, none of us knew about her for a long time. Mother's little secret. She's the oldest of us and taken by our aunt when she was a little girl. For the past month she has been living in South America, trying to find information on a new curse that might affect Hope on her sixteenth birthday. We thought we would be prepared."

"So, she's a vampire?" Caroline still felt confused.

"No, she's a witch, with immortality. It's all thanks to an aunt, we didn't know we had," Klaus shook his head. "None of that really matters right now. What matters is that we're all here, together, and I was hoping that we might make the most of our time together. Not dredging up the dreary past."

"Okay," Caroline sighed, feeling nervous about where Klaus was going with this conversation when Hayley and Elijah came back out of the kitchen. Hayley's hair was messy and Elijah's shirt was untucked. Giggling, Caroline looked at Klaus who also looked amused. "Where are the cookies?" Caroline asked the couple who looked at each other and then Hayley's eyes rounded.

"Oh, no!" Hayley moaned before racing back to the kitchen. She opened the oven at the same time that Elijah, Klaus, Caroline, Rebekah and Kol piled into the kitchen.

"Not again!" Rebekah wailed. "This is a disaster. Freya, did you know a spell on how to make homemade cookies out of thin bloody air?" she shouted to the other Mikaelson sister.

"What smells?" the guy named Jack asked, covering his nose, and waving at the air, while poking his head inside.

"_You_, wolf boy. Now, get out," Kol taunted the man who glared back at him.

"Jackson!" Freya called. "Not today!"

"Fine," Jackson strode back out of the kitchen.

"Okay. Everybody out!" Caroline ordered the people in the kitchen. "Unless you want to be part of a class on how to make cookies from scratch!" she told everyone with her hands on her hips. Kol ran from the kitchen while Rebekah, Hayley, Klaus, the little brunette and her two friends decided to stay in the kitchen. Then Cami and Finn entered the kitchen.

"Is there more alcohol in here?" Cami asked anyone who was listening.

"Yes," Hayley called, handing the blonde a bottle.

"Did I hear that there would be a cooking class in here?" Finn asked. "I spent so many years in a box that I never really had time to learn. Thank you, Niklaus."

"That is because I did not want you to burn down the house with all of us in it for spits and giggles, brother," Klaus snapped, drily.

"Enough!" Caroline shouted, smacking a rolling pin against the counter. "Look we have plenty of ingredients, and too many cooks who want to talk rather than work. Now, if you're going to stay, you're going to work."

"Yes, ma'am," Cami cried, drunkenly swaying to and fro. "What are we cooking?"

"Cookies? _Finally_," Rebekah groaned.

"Okay, cooks, each of you will need bowls," Caroline began. "Do you know what you need next?" Caroline called to her students.

"Common sense?" Finn asked with a smile.

"More drinks?" Cami asked, waving her bottle about.

"Not in the bowl," one of the guys sighed.

"Sorry, Josh," Cami moaned, lying her head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"No, you need flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, vanilla, baking powder, measuring cups, a rolling pin, cookie cutters, icing and sprinkles," Caroline told them. "Now, let's make a line so we can make sure that everyone has enough room at their work space. Good. Okay. Now, we can start passing what we need around. We'll be like a conveyor belt of cookie making."

Hayley was the person closest to the cabinets and began to pull down bowls. There were only three clean mixing bowls. "Problem," she called to Caroline who had pulled out two bottles of milk. "We only have three clean bowls," she pointed out.

"Okay. So, we'll have three mixers. Three people to roll the cookies out and to cut them. And two people to place them on sheets, cook and decorate them. Who wants to mix? Okay, Hayley, Rebekah and Finn. Who wants to roll and cut? No big surprise, Klaus, little brunette girl and tall, pretty man. And our cook and decorators will be: Cami and Josh."

"My name is Davina," Davina told Caroline as Klaus handed her a bag of flour.

"You name is little witch," Klaus corrected to which Davina threw flour in his face.

Hayley started to laugh as she took the carton with the eggs. "Oh, you think that is funny do you?" Klaus demanded of the younger hybrid who continued to smile until he cracked an egg over her head.

"Oh, it is on, Mikaelson!" Hayley yelled and Caroline could only stare in horror, as the food she had just handed around and the kitchen she and Elijah had worked so hard to clean up, became a mess, again.

"Hey, stop. Everyone, this is not how you make cookies!" Caroline yelled at the group who were too busy throwing butter, eggs, flour and sugar all over each other. "Come on. Please. Someone listen to me!" she cried when someone threw an egg and it began to dribble down the side of her head. Her jaw dropped when she realized that it was Klaus. "Oh, you are so going to pay for that!" she shouted as Hayley raced to her side and ducked down.

Grabbing a fist full of flour, Caroline threw it toward Klaus but it hit Finn in the face who did not look all that pleased. "Oops," Caroline said, laughing when Finn threw a piece of butter that fell down the front of her shirt.

"I'll help get that out!" Klaus offered and Cami began laughing when Josh poured milk over Klaus' head who began to sputter.

"Oh, my God!" Davina cried when Kol entered the kitchen and found a spoon. He dipped it inside a frosting container and threw it on his girlfriend who opened the bag of sprinkles, trying to aim for Kol but hitting Elijah and Freya who had come in to find out what was going on.

"What in the…" Elijah looked bewildered as he looked around the kitchen at the so-called cookie cooking class that had become an epic holiday food fight. "Everyone, out! Out! Now!" he yelled at them. "Get cleaned and changed. I do not want to see any of you for the next hour. If you must act like children, then go outside."

"Good idea," Kol said. Instead of heading upstairs, he opened the side door. "Who is interested in a snowball fight?" he cried. Davina, Josh and the tall, pretty man followed them out with Cami and Finn. This left Rebekah, Klaus, Hayley, Freya, Caroline and Klaus in the kitchen.

Klaus was the first to head toward the door. "Come on, Caroline," he called to her. She followed him because she could see that Elijah was not amused as he stood in the doorway watching them hurry away. Jackson was sitting on the couch playing with Hope when Klaus and Caroline hurried by.

"What happened to the two of you?" Jackson asked, eying them.

"There will be a delay on the cookies," Klaus announced, taking Caroline's hand and hurrying off.

Caroline could not believe that she was actually having fun at the Mikaelson's. They actually seemed like a real family. Like a family that she always hoped to be a part of one day. "This is my room," Klaus announced, suddenly, causing Caroline to stop abruptly when she looked up to find that they were standing in front of a bedroom.

"Yes," Caroline nodded, her head bobbing a little too long for comfort. "I have nothing to wear."

"I'll find something," Klaus replied. "If you want to use my shower," he smirked when she rolled her eyes. "I will wait until you're done," he added.

"Right," Caroline smiled before entering his room. It looked Klaus-like and she liked it but she wasn't going to dwell on it. Getting a quick shower and re-entering the room, she found a light blue dress with a belt and a pair of ballet flats in her size. "Thanks," she called when Klaus passed her, on his way to the bathroom.

"You're welcome," Klaus replied.

"I'm going to go downstairs and see what everyone is up to," Caroline told him.

"I will see you soon," Klaus replied and Caroline hurried out of the room, not wanting to be alone with him for too long. She found that no one was in the living room or in the dining room. They weren't in the kitchen either, although there were timers set up and cookies in the oven. The kitchen sparkled and there were no signs of the earlier fight.

Going outside, Caroline found the family engaged in a snow ball fight. Elijah, Hayley and Hope were making a snow family. Rebekah was making a snow angel. Kol hit Finn in the face with a snow ball and Cami hit Kol in the back of the head before ducking behind a fort she and Davina were hiding behind. "Whose team are you on, love?" Kol called to Caroline.

"She's on ours," Davina called. "Girls versus boys, Caroline!" she informed the blonde baby vampire.

"Not when Kol continues to attack me," Finn protested, taking another snow ball to the side of his head. "Enough, Kol!"

"I will never surrender," Kol retorted when Freya threw a snow ball at Jackson. "Ha!" Kol yelled at the werewolf who answered by hitting Kol in the face with snowball.

"I'm going to kill you for that, mate," Kol threatened when he was hit by a volley of snowballs from Davina, Freya and Cami. "Agh! I've been hit. Vampire down. Vampire down! Look, Nik's out. Come play with us, Nik! You can help even the score."

"I would prefer to avoid such foolishness," Klaus replied, glowering when Caroline bent down, made a snowball and hit him with it. She started to giggle when Klaus looked at her, gaping before he leapt toward her. Caroline let out a scream when he landed atop her, grabbing snow and pouring it over her face. "Okay! Okay! I give up. You win!" she cried, laughing.

"And _what_ do I win?" Klaus asked with a smirk.

For a moment, Caroline had no idea what to say. "Me," she told him with a grin.

"That's fair," Klaus replied, wiping the snow away and kissing her, gently and then not so gently while the rest of the group began to pelt them with snow balls.

"Its boys versus girls," Kol reminded them as Klaus helped Caroline to her feet. "Hurry up, Nik. They're winning," he yelled when Marcel and Elijah came to help him and Hayley came to join the girls' team. Klaus grinned as he kissed Caroline on the cheek. "Welcome to the family," he whispered.

"Merry Christmas," Caroline whispered back before going to join the opposing team. Crouching beside Hayley, she smiled at her former enemy. "Let's kick their butts."

A couple of hours later, everyone was exhausted, eating the cookies that had finally been baked, drinking and making predictions on the Christmases yet to come. "I bet that Davina Claire will make an honest man of me next year," Kol told the group.

"Not before Hayley and I marry," Elijah cried, with a smile.  
"Well, you have to pop the question first, Elijah," Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"I did. Earlier today while we were trying to make cookies," Elijah told his sister.

"_What_?" Rebekah yelled. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because sometimes people like to be happy without making a big deal of things," Hayley snapped with a smile.

"And who else is getting married? What about you, Nik?" Rebekah yelled at her brother who had fallen asleep with Caroline in his arms. "Nik, Nik! Bloody hell!" she yelled, throwing her arms up in the air.

In the dream that Klaus and Caroline were sharing, they were happy and warm and wore matching bands around the fourth finger of their left hands. Neither of them knew for sure what the future held for them, but right then, they both felt safe and loved. And for that single moment, that was enough for both of them.

**Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing. **

**To my guest reviewers: thank you for your lovely reviews and I'm so happy that you enjoyed the story. It has been a joy to write it. **

**Peace,**

**J**


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